The River in Reverse
by marauderzoe
Summary: With werewolf venom coursing through his veins, Elijah starts hallucinating. It takes him back to a moment in time with Katerina Petrova.


**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **So, I was working on my other fic, I'm a survivor, when I suddenly got this idea. A long time ago, I gave The Originals a chance and I actually got to episode 13 or something before deciding not to watch it any longer. There's this episode in which Klaus bites Elijah because he did something and Klaus didn't like it. Anyway, Elijah is hallucinating. In the episode, he hallucinates about Celeste, but I'd like it better if he was thinking about Katherine Pierce. (I'm a Kalijah shipper, so...) It's probably just a one shot, unless I got enough people (like 5 or so) who want a follow up.**

 **Anyway, here's the story. I hope you guys like it. And thanks for reading/reviewing :)**

 **(btw, not entirely Hayley friendly and there's an inkling of Klaroline)**

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He was lying on a bed, tossing and turning restlessly. He could hear two heartbeats next to him. Through the haze, he made out Hayley. She offered him some water. "Here, drink this." He took a sip from the cup she offered, but he couldn't keep it in. He started to cough and gag. He felt miserable and sweaty. And then he saw her face.

"Forgive me. Please." Elijah pleaded, but the face was gone.

"It's okay. Remind me to annihilate your brother once you're healthy." Hayley replied, though he hadn't asked her to forgive him. He hadn't wronged Hayley in the slightest. Her words got through to him and he mustered up a reply. "Yes, remind me to remind you to get in line." He had a bone to pick with his brother. Or several. Hayley sighed. "It doesn't help that we decided to shack up in a swamp either." He heard her footsteps move towards the porch. He felt a cold breeze into the shack. Elijah coughed once more. The footsteps walked back towards him.

"Are you okay?" She asked in concern. "I'm fine. Please, just… return to your reading." The girl had better things to do, like trying to find out who her family was. She sighed once more. "I went through the whole thing. It's just a regular Bible, with an entry in a family tree that may or may not be me. But, you know, I've been a little busy worrying about you." She complained. Elijah slightly shook his head in her dramatics. "Hayley, please. This fever will make me unstable. And once the hallucinations begin, I'll start to see things. You must leave me here." He didn't want her around when he'd start seeing her again. "I'm not leaving you like this." Hayley told him before walking back outside.

Elijah groaned in pain. Hayley returned to his bedside. He could feel her pressure when she sits down on the bed. Her hand touched his forehead to gauge his temperature. Elijah could feel himself fall into the memory.

 _Two almond-shaped, deep brown eyes met his when he entered the room. She was relaxing in a bathtub, her normally curly dark brown hair was damp from the water._

"Katerina?" Elijah questioned, seeing the vision of the girl he has loved for over five hundred years. He felt an ache in his chest. He missed her. Then he heard the two heartbeats and realised that he had been hallucinating. He saw Hayley looking at him, she seemed a bit embarrassed and jealous, maybe? He realised that he had been hallucinating Katerina's lovely face. "Hayley, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else." Though he wished that it had actually been his lovely Katerina looking after him. "Katherine Pierce." Hayley whined. She hadn't known that Katherine had a history with Elijah. Then again, she didn't know much about Katherine other than that she had wanted to find a cure so she could get her freedom from Klaus. Elijah hadn't meant for Hayley to see that, though he was surprised that Hayley knew Katherine. "Did I let you enter my thoughts? I'm not well. I should go. This is…" He was going to say personal, but another coughing fit stopped him. "This is fine, Elijah. You're sick, I'm taking care of you." Although Hayley'd rather had that Elijah had been hallucinating about someone other than Katherine Pierce.

Elijah heard something outside and mustered up some strength to look out of the window. "We're being watched." He felt the weight of Hayley leave the bed and she walked outside, in pursuit of whoever was watching them. She came back later though, settling on the bed and placing his head in her lap as he continued to writher restlessly, getting lost in hallucinations and more memories of Katerina Petrova.

 _Katherine was relaxing in the large bathtub in the middle of the bathroom when Elijah entered. Katerina smiled at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She playfully threw her sponge at him, but Elijah caught it deftly. She giggled. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to join me?" Elijah leaned back against the door, looking at the beauty that is Katerina Petrova. "No, I'm much happier taking in such a wondrous view. It's perfection." Katherine shook her head. "That won't do. Besides, you still haven't caught me." She pouted. Elijah chuckled at Katerina's little game. He moved to sit at the edge of the tub. "What fun would there be in that?" "I can think of some fun things we could do after you caught me." Her voice dropped a little lower. Katherine had lifted a leg out of the tub and had started rubbing it against Elijah's thigh. He smirked and grabbed the leg, kissing her foot before placing it in his lap. Then he started rubbing the sponge over it. "I'm quite enjoying myself, sweetheart." He was playing a dangerous game, but he was in too deep now. Katherine leaned her head back and enjoyed the moment. Elijah watched Katerina relax and just be happy. "Will you stay with me?" She asked, a vulnerability in her voice that he hadn't heard before. "Katerina…" Elijah trailed. "I know, always and forever." She sighed, defeated, lifting her head to look at him. She saw the pain in Elijah's face and let it go. There was no use in wasting time together, rehashing an old argument. "You know, I think I might stay here for a little while." Katherine said, looking around the room. "Really?" "Yeah, it's a nice place. Plenty of entertainment." A sly smile tugged at her lips. "Do you want me to leave now, or you'd rather I keep you entertained a little while longer?" Elijah replied playfully. Katerina tilted her head slightly to the side, biting her lower lip seductively. "I'm honestly not sure whether you could handle it." Elijah let go of her leg. He leaned in, his face inches away from Katerina's. "I've always like a challenge." Elijah whispered, before closing the distance between them._

 _His lips gently brushed against hers. She leaned towards him, the water sloshing against the tub when she moved. Elijah's hands reached out to cup her face. Katerina deepened the kiss by pulling him even closer, her fingers tangling in his shirt. He sank into the sensuousness of her soft lips, sucking at her bottom lip. A moan escaped Katherine's mouth. Elijah smiled against her lips. Her tongue darted out, running over his lips, and he slowly opened his mouth to give her better access. He let out a groan as his tongue met hers, teasing him before he swirled his tongue around hers. Then she slowly pulled back, biting at his lower lip. One of his hands moved to her scalp, tugging at her hair. Another moan erupted from her lips. His tongue traced the outline of her lips before he captured her lips once more. They slowly broke apart, both breathing heavily, even though they didn't need the oxygen. Elijah leaned his forehead against hers. Katherine pulled back, lifting her hand to caress his cheek, a content smile gracing her face. "I love you." She whispered, while pulling him in for a passionate kiss._

Elijah shivered and groaned in pain. It wasn't real. His Katerina wasn't here. "Hayley, please. This fever. My mind is flooded with these torturous memories. You have to leave." Elijah requested. He just wanted to be left alone, without having someone intrude when he was once again reminded of what he had to let go. Of what he could never have. "What is your deal? You don't like people taking care of you?" She didn't get it. "There are consequences for those that care. I will not have you pay that price." "So, you're having weird sex dreams? Get over it, I'm staying." Elijah wished she'd leave. What he was seeing could endanger Katerina. And Hayley was also experiencing his past. "What about our visitor? What does she want?" Elijah asked, hoping that she could get Hayley away from him. "I'm guessing she's the one that left the mystery Bible on the doorstep last night. Would be nice if she'd stick around long enough to tell me why." Could this girl do anything other than complain? "Hayley." Elijah sighed. "You came here to gather information about your family, not to play nursemaid to a vampire with a temperature. Please, find her. Learn what you can." "No, I'm staying." Elijah didn't reply because he hadn't had the strength left. He's panting. He can feel Hayley's had on his forehead, but he's falling into his past once more.

" _Katerina. Forgive me. I'm sorry."_

" _Has this not gone on long enough, brother?" Klaus laughed at his brother's request. "Come on, Elijah, do not tell me you still care for her, even after everything? She lied to you, manipulated you. That woman never loved you. You were nothing more than a means to an end. In this case, to get her freedom. Something she will never get." "Niklaus, I beg of you." Elijah tried, but his brother interrupted him. "My answer is final, brother. The only way that girl will ever be free of me is by her death. Actually, that's a good idea. Why don't we take care of this matter once and for all? She gets her freedom and I get my revenge." Elijah lunged at his brother. "For a centuries, I have stood by your side. I have sacrificed my own happiness because of a promise I have made to you, so many centuries ago. Always and forever. And yet, you cannot, no you will not, grant me this one favour." "Come now, brother. I'm sure you'll find much better than the Petrova doppelganger." Elijah let go of his brother in defeat. "You do not get it, do you, brother." He spit out the last word. "Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, Elijah. We do not feel and we do not care." Elijah shook his head. "Do you even hear yourself brother? Every day, you are growing more like the man you despise so much." It was Klaus' turn to attack his brother. "Did you just compare me to Mikael?" "Yes, Niklaus. I did. Go ahead, dagger me. At least it would release me of your miserable company." Nik let go of Elijah and shook his head. "You care about her. Well, that is unfortunate." "What is unfortunate is that I try to salvage what is left of your humanity. But I seem to be failing." "We are not weak, Elijah. We are the Original Vampires, people fear us." But Elijah didn't want to hear it. "I let her in, Niklaus. I love her. And you will not let me be happy. I would never abandon you, brother. All I'm asking you is to let her live."_

He awakened with a start, a scream erupting from his mouth. "Elijah?" Hayley asked, but he didn't see Hayley, he saw Niklaus and grabbed her in a choke-hold and pinned her against the wall. "Niklaus! I'll kill you, you bastard." "Elijah?" A terrified voice asked, struggling against her. Suddenly, everything went black.

When he woke up, he felt better. He no longer suffered from the effects of the werewolf poison. Elijah removed the stake from his body before walking to the front of the shack. "Good evening. Think I might have something which belongs to you." Elijah said while holding the stake out to the woman. "Elijah, I've got this. Are you okay?" "The wound is healed, the fever is broken, but for some strange reason I have this sharp and lingering sensation in my back." Elijah replied, while giving the woman a knowing look. Hayley talked to the woman for a brief moment before they make their way back to the plantation house.

They were sitting in his car. Elijah wasn't sure whether he wanted to enter or not. "So, thanks for the ride." Hayley said, breaking through Elijah's thoughts. He gives her a weak smile. "Quite the awkward little adventure, wouldn't you say? I'm sorry I tried to hurt you. I would never want that." "What happened to Katherine?" Hayley suddenly asked. "That's not important." "It is important. Thousand years of memories and that's what breaks through your fevered brain? I want to know." It would be an interesting exercise for Elijah to go over this himself. But it was of no concern to Hayley. "I'm sorry, Hayley, but it is in the past. Let's leave it there." "Why? Because if you tell me, Klaus will kill her? Or he will do something to you because you won't let her go?" Elijah sighed. She sounded like a petulant child who didn't get her way. "That will do, Hayley." Elijah said, getting out of the door and making his way into the house.

Elijah enters the living room, right in the middle of an argument between Rebekah and Klaus. They both look up when he entered the room. "Elijah's home. There's only one dagger. Which one of us will you be punishing today?" Rebekah asked, aware that she was goading her brother. "I contemplated a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe. You betrayed me. My own sister!" Klaus shouted at her accusingly. Elijah stepped in front of his sister protectively. "Niklaus, don't you dare!" Elijah warned. But Klaus didn't care, he pointed the dagger at him. "Perhaps it should be you, brother! Stealing my child away with every fawning moment of tenderness you show to Hayley!" Elijah shook his head "This has nothing to do with Hayley." This argument was truly going nowhere. Especially, since once again, Nilaus was making it all about him. "It has everything to do with her! She's adored you since she arrived. And now my child, my blood, will grow up to call you father!"

Rebekah was getting sick of having this argument over and over again. "Is that what it is? You are once again worried that you will be left behind? Has history taught you nothing? We don't abandon you, Nik, you drive us away!" She yelled at him. "Is that so? What have I done lately, other than cooperate? I bow down to you, brother, to make up for daggering you. For the greater good of our plan to reclaim our home. Looked the other way, sister, while you repeat the same cycle with Marcel. Falling again for a man you shouldn't be with, while he controls the empire that we built! That he took! Now, I make no excuses for past sins. But in the one moment when you two could have chosen to stand by me- to believe in me, to believe my intentions for my own child were pure- you chose to stand against me, to side with my enemies. I wanted our home back. Now I have it. So, I'm going to live there. And the two of you... you can stay here together and rot." Klaus angrily shoves the dagger into Elijah's hands as he makes his way to the door. Rebekah looked a bit guilty, but Elijah wasn't going to have this, not today.

He speeded to the door and stopped his brother from leaving. "That is enough." He raised his voice, louder than he had done in years. Both Klaus and Rebekah looked at him in surprise. Elijah wasn't one to lose his temper. "You will not leave this house until we have this settled. So you might as well make yourself comfortable." Elijah motioned to the couch. Nik was about to refuse, but one look from Elijah silenced him.

"Today, I relived some of my past, courtesy to my darling brother and it made me realise something. I left the love of my life because I promised to stand by you, my family, always and forever. And that will not be in vain. You want to talk about repeating the same cycle over and over again, Niklaus? How about this one. We do something not to your liking, you dagger us and whenever it is convenient to you, you pull the dagger out and you let us walk around again. You fear abandonment, so you keep us closed up in boxes whenever you think that we would leave you. You continue to tarnish any hope we ever have at happiness because you fear to end up alone. And yet, here we still are. After a thousand years, we are still here, no matter how hard you lash out. I am still trying to fix this family, and I'm not going to give up on either one of you. We've lost Finn a long time ago. Kol is dead. We are all that's left. And I'm not giving up on the people that I love." Elijah looked at his brother and sister.

"He's a lost cause, Elijah. He can't be fixed. I don't know why we're here anymore. It's clear he'd rather be rid of us. He can't trust us, we betray him. And he only has one dagger, so he can't keep the both of us locked up. Nik's losing control and he doesn't like that. He's nothing more than a broken man who doesn't how to love." Rebekah said, motioning to Klaus, who just sat there, deep in thought. "See, he doesn't even respond." Rebekah shook her head and started walking away, but Elijah stopped her. "Is that what you truly believe sister? That your own brother can't be redeemed? To me, the very definition of the word 'broken' suggests that something can be fixed. I have a whole eternity to accomplish one single task: my brother's salvation. If I surrender this, then tell me, what value would I be to my family? To myself? To you?" Rebekah looked at Elijah for a moment and then sat back down. "I honestly don't know what to think anymore." She answered truthfully. The three of them sat there in silence, all of them lost in thougt. Elijah kept replaying the conversation he'd had with Katerina about his family and about them. He had left her, once again having to take care of the mess created by his brother. She had trusted him, she had given him the choice. And he missed his beloved Katerina every day. But right now, he was protecting her. New Orleans would keep him occupied for a while. And maybe, one day, he's chose her.

"Anybody capable of love, is capable of being saved." Niklaus spoke up, repeating the words Caroline had once told him. "You'll have to be capable of love first, then." Rebekah threw at her brother. "Caroline Forbes." Nik said. Both Elijah and Rebekah looked at him. "What in the bloody hell does she have to do with any of this?" "She told me that. I had bitten her, after Kol died. She was lying on the couch, dying. And yet, she was looking at me and she genuinely believed that I could be redeemed." "You love her." Elijah concluded, judging from the look that had just passed over his brother's face. It was one he had never seen, not in a thousand years. Klaus nodded ever so slightly. He finally understood why his brother had been fighting so hard for Katherine's freedom.

"She can have her freedom. I'll even buy her a new pair of heels." Elijah looked at his brother in disbelief. "Is this one of your games?" "I promise you it is not. She is free of me." Klaus got up and walked over to his sister. "What do you want?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her. "I want to be happy." Rebekah whispered, a tear streaming down. "Then be happy, I promise you, I won't stop you." Klaus said, getting up. Rebekah grabbed his arm. "What has got into you?" "Why don't we call it my first step toward redemption?" Klaus said with a smirk before walking out, leaving his brother and sister staring after him in surprise.

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So, what did you think? You liked it? Hated it? Please let me know.

Thanks for reading/reviewing.


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